Off to the Medal Round!
The LA Kings will be represented by three players and two staff members as the 2026 Winter Olympics have advanced to the medal round.
Team Canada, including defenseman Drew Doughty and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, as well as Head Equipment Manager Darren Granger, skated to an emotional and thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over Team Czechia, cementing their place in Friday’s semifinals, guaranteeing Team Canada the opportunity to compete for a medal. Later in the day, LA Kings forward Joel Armia joined that group in the medal round, as Team Finland came from two goals down to defeat Team Switzerland in the quarterfinals, a 3-2 victory in overtime, cementing their own place among the final four teams remaining.
In the Canada/Czechia matchup, Doughty logged 14:18 in the win over Team Czechia, ranking fourth among Canadian blueliners in the game. Doughty was on the ice for forward Macklin Celebrini’s game-opening goal in the first period, helping his team advance to the semifinals. Kuemper did not feature in net, as Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues was the starter in goal. Would expect those roles to largely continue into the medal round as well.
Just a couple of hours later, Armia and Team Finland also advanced to the medal round, via a comeback, 3-2 overtime victory over Team Switzerland. Armia did not find the scoresheet in the win over Team Switzerland, as he did in each of his team’s first three games at the tournament, but saw an elevated role in the game as Finland came back to win. Armia logged 14:05, the eighth-highest total among Finland forwards, and was on the ice for Sebastian Aho’s goal in the third period, which got the Finns on the board. Look for Armia continue to play a key role on the penalty kill against Team Canada, as well as in 5-on-5 situations, in Friday’s semifinal matchup.
LA Kings goaltending coach Mike Buckley, in the same role with Team USA, saw his squad advance to the medal round as well, with a 2-1 overtime victory over Team Sweden in the final quarterfinal matchup. It came at the expense of forward Adrian Kempe, however, who saw his tournament come to an end with Team Sweden. Kempe was one of Sweden’s top used forwards and most productive players at the 2026 Winter Olympics, as he collected two goals and two assists in five games played, including the game-opening goal in Sweden’s knockout victory over Team Latvia on Tuesday in Milan. Kempe will now take a few days off and will likely return to the Kings early next week, perhaps on Monday or Tuesday, when the Kings hold their final two practices before resuming play on Wednesday, February 25 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Proud of you, 🧃
Adrian Kempe finished the tournament with 2 goals and 2 assists on the world stage 👏 pic.twitter.com/7vIZtdKZ8R
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 18, 2026
With the tournament down to four teams, each Kings player remaining is guaranteed two additional games. The semifinals will be contested on Friday, before the tournament concludes with the bronze-medal game on Saturday and the gold-medal game on Sunday. The teams that lose in the semifinals will play on back-to-back days, with the battle for third place coming on Friday. The teams that win get an additional day to prepare, before the tournament finale for the championship on Sunday.
Kings Medal Round Schedule
Canada (Doughty, Kuemper) vs. Finland (Armia) – Friday, 2/20 at 7:40 AM Pacific
Bronze Medal Game – Saturday, 2/21 at 11:40 AM Pacific
Gold Medal Game – Sunday, 2/22 at 5:10 AM Pacific
The Canada/Finland game on Friday is scheduled to be broadcast live on USA Network, while the second semifinal matchup, between the United States and Slovakia, is scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC. As of now, the bronze-medal game on Saturday is scheduled to be broadcast live on USA Network, while the gold-medal game is scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC, though that could always change based on the teams participating.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
